G'day,
Here are the words as sung by the author himself on the album "Open The Door And Let Us In":


JOSEPH BAKER
(Peter Coe)

You sporting men of Chester
I'd have you all to hear
Of a man called Joseph Baker
Who lived near Delamere
He ran faster than the old red fox
And further than the hound
And of all the men who challenged him
No equal could be found.

For he rose up every morning
Before the day was clear
And through the shady forest
He pursued the royal deer
And he chased the wind across the field
And the mist right off the hill
And he raced the dust along the road
And the stream down to the mill.

Now sportsmen came from far and near
To challenge Baker's speed
At every place in every race
They swore to do that deed
And a tailor he came from Frodsham
And a soldier came from Hale
And a sailor came from Birkenhead
And a butcher came from Sale.

He was never beaten in a race
Until that fatal day
When death at last defeated him
And took his breath away
But if you should watch on a winter's night
You'll see him running still
As his ghost runs down from Kelsall Church
Right up to Helsby Hill
Yes if you should watch on a winter's night
You'll see him running still
As his ghost runs down from Kelsall Church
Right up to Helsby Hill.


Sleeve notes:-

Peter Massey, of Chester, sent me a broadside about a long-distance runner who ran around Chester in the 1890's and whose ultimate achievements were a mile in five minutes and an early grave. I didn't like the original words of the broadside, tried to rewrite it, failed miserably, but eventually succeeded in making a new song about Joseph Baker, taking considerable liberties with the rather doubtful background information I had about him.

Cheers,
Alan